Tigers' Dontrelle Willis pitches with cracked nail on throwing hand

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland let Dontrelle Willis pitch with a broken nail on the middle finger of his pitching hand Monday night, saying he wouldn’t take him out unless Willis said he no longer could pitch.

“Breaking this nail has been going on since I’ve been in the big leagues,” Willis said. “I can’t glue it. You can’t pitch with a Band-Aid. But you pitch over it. You’ve got to grind it out for the team. It’s like turf toe. I’m fine just so long as the nail doesn’t rip off. I just put Neosporin on it.

“This finger is vital to every pitch you throw. But, if anything, my command got better after I cracked it.”